math for K or 1st grade

[Ohio12]

I am basically doing Well Trained mind stuff with my daughter, but don't know how to pick math for next year. She will be in K, but may be ready for 1st grade math. what are teh pros and cons of saxon, abeka etc. ?Thanks!

[Sasha]

I am just starting to do Saxon K with my 4 year old. It's very, very basic; play-oriented with lots of manipulatives.

[Ohio12]

Thank you. That sounds too basic. I think I might get the 1st grade one. How much did the K one cost?

[Rosy]

I just sold Saxon K, I found it to be too parent-led for us. Saxon 1 starts slow and you can do half a lesson at a time and work through it together if you need to. Saxon has a placement test on their website...you might look it over and see which one looks like it would fit. I've also heard great things about Math-U-See.

[Ohio12]

thank you so much! the placement test sounds great

[my2kidsmom]

Alpha Omega also has a placement test.

My dd started using the Horizons 1 when she was in K. We are now in the 4th grade book. I have been very please with Horizons. I started out with Saxon K. I thought it was way too basic and we did not like the scripted lessons. (However, I liked the scripted lessons in other subjects.)

[daisychics]

now we use Math U See (mathusee.com). My son LOVES it. There's a DVD (with Mr. Demme and he explains the lesson) that goes along with it that we watch together. Then he does the workbook. It's about mastery, I like that. My son understands place value and borrowing when subtracting...- he gets math. Your dd sounds like she would be ready for Alpha - they also have a placement test on their website.

Good Luck!

[Ali in OR]

If you have a Sonlight catalog handy, I think that they do a very nice job of describing several different math programs giving pros and cons of each. They don't cover Abeka, but they do talk about Saxon, Horizons, Singapore, and I think Miquon too. Anyway, reading through their descriptions helped me figure out which program fit us best (Singapore).

 

Also, I think many home schoolers go ahead and do Saxon 1 during kindergarten...I believe VP schedules it this way.

 

Here's a link to the math part of Sonlight's website. In the yellow column on the right, you will find the names of the different math programs. Click on them and you'll find Sonlight's description (you may have to scroll down a bit).

 

http://www.sonlight.com/math.html

[Osaubi]

I swiched to RightStart this year with my ds5. It is a bit pricey, but I think it is well worth the money. Here is the link if you are intrested:

 

www.alabacus.com

 

They have a placement test on the website.

 

 

HTH,

Kim

[Retrocutie]

I am using A Beka K5 with my son this year and he loves it. While it's academically challenging it's not overly workbook based- we play lots of games and do many different types of activities that he loves. It has the lessons planned out for you but not scripted so you can ditch what you don't want to do. There is a page out of the workbook like once every other day or every three days. We love it! BUT...the lessons assume you bought the whole kit and kaboodle. All the flashcards, the felt letters etc which can add up unless you get them elsewhere. So beware of that.

[King Alfred Academy]

I switched to RS level B this year with my first grader. We did Saxon First grade in K and continued it into first grade, but he was bored with it and I couldn't bring myself to teach it. I loved the use of the manipulatives, but didn't like how it jumped around so much. I also decided I wanted a mastery program that used the "base ten" idea. I like the use of manipulatives in this program as well as the games played for reinforcement. It is teacher intensive and from what I understand and have experience with, the games for review are a must.

[PeterPan]

I did RightStart B with my dd when she was K5 and also HIGHLY recommend it!

 

Are you going to the Cincy convention at the end of the month? http://www.cincinnatihomeschoolconvention.com RightStart will be there and Dr. Cotter's dd will be repping the booth. Last year the convention was AMAZING. If you haven't been yet, you want to go! And Chris Klicka will be speaking at the CHEO convention (right there in Columbus) in June. http://www.cheohome.org

 

Elizabeth

[LN in WI]

I also recommend Right Start -- I've used it with two kids so far and am still pleased with it.

 

Ellen

[...................]

I tried Saxon K- it wasn't even worth the paper it was printed on for us. The stuff it taught was learned naturally by *both* my kids before age five, most of it before age 4. It was also expensive and time consuming.

 

Then I tried Singapore 1a and 1b, and liked them. We hit a wall with 1a because it requires writing numbers but really doesn't teach them well enough for the student to master it. This clued me in to the fact that Singapore would be a source of frustration for me. I prefer that mostly everything I need to know/review/do be included in the book.

 

So then I spent time teaching my son numbers, and after quite a while of writing and learning them I looked around for more options and because I learned the hard way I tried

 

Saxon 1- I was sure I was doing the right thing. Didn't I want a proven curriculum that included everything I needed? This was a disaster. I spent a lot of money and put my son through two months of grueling 45 minute lessons, and got nowhere. It's spiral based but with very little introduction tomaster the concept before moving on. My son enjoyed the hands on format of the lessons, but he was failing every assessment. I was doing extra review, extra teaching, and trying to remember we'd spiral around and maybe he would remember his facts later on. But he also couldn't remember how to write the numbers. It was time consuming and ineffective for us.

 

So then I tried Horizons K and we are thrilled. Horizons K is very advanced, so using with my K'er halway into K was perfect. It takes very little time to teach and it's really *fun!* I love the colorful, clear pages and the way the skills are presented and practiced, then spiralled. My son is learning everything he needs to know completely painlessly. I don't even use the TM. I just remember to practice counting and skip counting, and to teach them. Schoolhouse Rock took care of the fives, my son learned the tens in one day, and we still practice now. He loves the variety in the lessons and never seems to tire. We often complete two lessons.

 

BUT Horizons does not drill math facts for memory in K- they just introduce using the number line. I wanted my son to have the up to 5 facts memorized so on the side I am using Calculadder. However you don't need to do that unless you're moving into another system (like I am into CHC) or your state requires memorization of math facts in K (ours doesn't.)

 

So I just really want to plug Horizons. And since you really don't need the TM it's ultra affordable. Also- if you do pick Horizons I would cement number writing up to 30 before starting. It will save you time and frustration and you can double up on the first 15 lessons to make up for the month you spent cementing numbers.

[neesek]

Another vote for Horizons here. My ds was doing a lot of math before K also. He definitely could have started in a 1st grade program, but he had very immature handwriting and he really needed the writing practice and bigger spaces on the paper. Many of the 1st grade programs had much smaller space that he wasn't ready for. Horizons gave him that practice and space but was still an advanced program. He flew through the program and was done by February, and is now 1/2 - 2/3 year ahead. It has been a great fit for him.

 

My dd is doing K this year, and although she doesn't seem to have the natural math inclination her brother does, she is still doing very well with it. The spiral format is giving her plenty of practice and she has made great progress.

[SnowWhite]

While you're researching, take a look at Bob Jones University Press Math. I will be using that next year after trying out Modern Curriculum Press, Singapore, and Christian Light.

 

What draws me to BJU:

 

Colorful workbook

Concept development and mental math

Problem solving instruction

Helpful teacher's manual, with activities to choose from (but not necessarily do every time)

Use of manipulatives

"Mastery" style organization- this means you have a chapter for each concept rather than spiralling through topics, addressing several topics each day.

[prairiegirl]

Well, I'll jump on the RS bandwagon as well. I am getting ready to start it with my third child. We love it here. It has helped us to overcome our math phobias (both for my dd and myself.) I love how it teaches math with hands on activities and games.

 

 

Julia

mom of 3 (8,7,5)

[chiguirre]

I went through the math trial and error in K for ds and now I'm in the same boat again with dd :rolleyes:. I've used a lot of curricula and these have been our experiences. One thing to remember is that each kid is different, that's why I'm on the math curricula merry-go-round again.

 

Saxon: We used K and I looked through the 1st grade TM pretty thoroughly. Saxon managed to be both too easy and too hard. It starts out very easy, but by the last time or 2 through a concept it introduces fairly advanced work (skip counting 5s and 10s in K) without much introduction or repetition.

 

Singapore Earlybird: Both of my kids have enjoyed and learned a lot with Singapore EB. They're polar opposites so I'm going to venture that it works well with a wide range of learning styles and abilities. Singapore 1A and on didn't look like a good match for ds. It moves more rapidly and he needs a lot of repetition. I think it will work better with dd.

 

RightStart: This was a total bomb with ds who doesn't like manipulatives. This is another I'll try with dd.

 

Miquon: This uses only cuisenaire rods as manipulatives and encourages math exploration. Ds didn't like it (the manipulative thing). I'll give this a shot with dd. Lots of people use this in combination with Singapore and there is a table on the Singapore Math site that lines them up for you.

 

Calvert and Scott Foresman Exploring Mathematics: I think the authors of these 2 might have been experiencing a mind meld. They are VERY similar at least in K and 1st grade. I've been using Calvert K math orally with dd and then we do the worksheets from SF. If your child is ready, these programs go by very quickly (we've spent 2 months on these and I think we'll finish up in about 1 more month). They both cover the usual scope and sequence mastery style with some thinking skills thrown in. They're bright and colorful and dd goes through them like candy. First grade is similar in style, uses counters to teach addition and generally makes traditional first grade math pretty painless.

 

Rod and Staff: This starts in 1st grade, but you can use the C workbook from the ABC series for some K prep. It's not really necessary because 1st grade starts at the beginning and spends a bit more time on writing numbers and counting than other programs. R&S focuses on memorizing addition and subtraction facts to 10 (using number houses--all the combinations that sum to a number) instead of +1, +2, etc. It also covers telling time, money, skip counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s, reading a thermometer, and place value. It's mastery with a LOT of review. The front of each worksheet is the current skill, the back is review. This program is deceptively simple looking but it covers a lot of ground incrementally. It's essential to get and follow the TM since that has all the presentations and oral drill. The blackline masters are useful but not absolutely essential if your dc is a math whiz. They are very economical (400 pages for $14) and add a lot more practice into the program if you need it. I'd use this again but I'm worried dd will pass ds and seperate programs are probably a good idea for us.

 

I hope that some of this ramble is useful to you, it's helped me clarify my thoughts about where to go with dd.

[rafiki]

.

[TracyR]

Saxon K is really set up for the average child around the age of 4 . Uses lots of games and manipulatives. Actually makes a great PreK math program . Yet definitley prepares them for 1st grade math too . This program worked well for my 2nd daughter . I am looking more for something different for my 3rd daughter for Math for K and plan on trying Christian Light's math . It is set up very similar to Saxon math ( same spiral method ) . But is in workbook form .

I'm also a big fan of BJU math from grades K-4th grade .

[Valerie in Chicago]

We used Saxon K for DD1, who is 4 1/2yo. She blew through it. We would do the lesson, then she would just naturally move on to the next steps, which would turn out to be the next lesson. She enjoyed it, though. Sometimes she would ask to do another lesson.

 

We're about 14 lessons into Saxon 1, and she still seems to like it. Sometimes we don't get through the entire lesson at once, but we don't sweat it. And the first few weeks seems to be lots of review of the K program.

[jail warden]

Did I mention I love RightStart!:D It is awesome in the way it explains math.

[RootAnn]

How comfortable are you with teaching math? If you feel you know math pretty well and that your daughter would be able to handle a fast-moving program, I suggest A Beka.

 

With no formal math program last year, I started my (turned six-year-old in Nov) DD with A Beka 1. It seems to move very quickly and does have a lot of review/drill that you can pick & choose from. I would suggest not getting the Teacher's Manual and instead get the homeschool curriculum book. It provides daily lesson plans.

 

I recently had my daughter complete the Saxon math placement test (K-3) just for fun. It said I should start her on Saxon 3. That echos the thoughts of many here that suggest starting Saxon 1 in K (Saxon 2 in 1st, Saxon 3 in 2nd). My homeschooling neighbor and her (also six-year-old) daughter blew threw Saxon K in a couple of months.

 

I am going to look into Singapore for my younger daughter (turns 5 this summer) as I have read it is more workbook-y and not as rigorous. She isn't as strong in math skills and I want to help her have a good base going into 1st (where I plan on again using A Beka 1).